After Positive COVID-19 Test, What's Next For Buddy Hield?

Former Sooner says he'll join Sacramento teammates when he's cleared to play

John E. Hoover|

After Positive COVID-19 Test, What's Next For Buddy Hield?

Buddy Hield, the former national player of the year from Oklahoma and one of the most popular Sooners in school history, has COVID-19.

An unnamed NBA source confirmed Heild’s positive test to The Athletic on Wednesday, although Hield previously had been asymptomatic.

Hield reported told the fan site Cowbell Kingdom that he is currently in Sacramento and will join his Kings teammates for the resumption of the NBA season in Orlando after he is medically cleared.

Hield, a first-team All-American when he led the Sooners to the Final Four in 2016, won the NBA’s All-Star 3-point challenge this year and is averaging 19.8 points per game as the Kings (28-36) were among the 22 teams invited to the NBA’s post-Coronavirus restart in Florida.

Much like his time in college, Hield's NBA career arc so far has trended upward. If he clears this hurdle without any complications, expect the 6-foot-4 Hield to continue to be one of the NBA's best perimeter shooters and most popular young players.

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Published Jun 26, 2020

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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